X3
by Sylvyr Elf
Summary: This is my younger sister's idea for movie 3, written by me with her permission. When trouble starts brewing between the mutants and humans in New Orleans the X-men take off to help defuse the situation, only to get embroiled in a tangled web of deceit...


Cadence glared blearily at the clock. It had only moved about ten seconds since the last time she had looked at it.

Man, I really hate this job, she thought. She found it regrettable that a gas station was the only place a seventeen year old orphan could find work. 

Of course her violet hair might have had something to do with it, but unfortunately there was nothing she could do about that. Although she could pass it off as a wild rebellious teenage thing, the truth was that no dyes would have any affect on her hair. 

The door swung open, the tiny bell ringing cheerily, and she pasted a chirpy smile on her face as she turned to the customer. The smile turned genuine when she saw who it was. 

"Hi, Remy,"

"Bonsoir, petite, how're you?" the slim Cajun asked.

"Boring, as always," she replied.

Remy leaned forward over the counter and lowered his voice, "You know, if you ever get tired of dis, deres a place for you in de guild."

"Thanks Remy, but you know I want to stay in a legal job," she could tell that he was just teasing, he knew she would have nothing to do with his line of work.

Remy leaned back and placed several decks of cards on the counter, "Okay den, I need dese and a pack of Marlboro's." 

After paying for his purchase Remy stood and talked with her for a while before her manager, Marshall, came out and chased him off.

*******

Two figures hunched in the unnatural shadows that stretched across a nearby roof, watching as Gambit exited the station, tucking his purchases into the pockets recessed into his long coat.

"How much longer?" croaked a deep, unpleasant voice.

"Just a couple more hours, then we can begin our hunt," came the soft, but surprisingly deep voice of a woman.

"Good, I don't want to wait here much longer."

*******

Cadence changed into her street clothes, a short black skirt, a violet tank top, and black jacket, and dropped her time card into the clock, heard the light sound of it being punched and placed it back into it's slot. She tossed her work uniform into her locker and locked it..

"G'night Marshall," she called as she headed out the door. Her manager called a muffled goodbye to her from the back.

She shifted the bag of groceries she had just purchased from the station onto her hip as she walked through the dark streets. Many of the streetlights in the mutant quarter of New Orleans had been shot out and replacing them was not high on the priority of the city's maintenance crew. Cadence usually felt safe but something felt unusual this morning. 

She picked up her pace, sending out little empathic waves, but she could detect nothing except the rats that hid out in the alley, and a stray dog hiding out in the old decrepit playground.

She tried to laugh at her nervousness, but somehow could not. Even though she could not sense anything menacing she began to run.

She tried to send off an empathic message to Tara, to let her roommate know she was coming and to unlock the door, but something tripped her and sent her sprawling on the pavement.

Looking to see what had tripped her she saw nothing on the path but shadows.

*******

Two blocks away a young girl jolted awake. She had felt that Cadence was scared, and wanted her to be ready to open the door, but something had cut off her message.

*******

Cadence stared at her foot in bewilderment, she knew she had felt something trip her. She heard gravelly laughter and looked up in horror. She tried to lift her hands, to push herself up and run away, but it was like the shadows were sticking to her body, holding her in place.

"I don't understand?"

There was no answer from the dark, she sent out a wave, trying to sense the emotions of her pursuers. Her eyes widened in shock, they intended to kill her. They were anticipating it with cruel pleasure. 

"Why? I haven't done anything to you?"

One figure stepped out of the darkness, leveling a pistol at her.

"YOU!" she cried with recognition, "But, why? Wh-"

Her words were cut off by the loud explosion of the pistol.

*******

Tara stood at the doorway, ready to open the door as soon as Cadence appeared, a sudden empathic wave shook her, knocking her body to the floor from the shock. Then there was nothing but silence. Silence and emptiness.

She knew that the empathic bond she had shared with Cadence had been broken, and it could never be fixed. 

She sat and stared out the window as the sun slowly rose over the slums of New Orleans. She was not surprised when the police arrived late in the morning. She already knew what they would tell her. That they had found a broken body on the sidewalk somewhere, the broken body of her roommate.

And she knew nothing would ever be quite right again.


End file.
